HLnovel Chapter 208 Another incident at the soup kitchen
Chapter 208 Another incident at the soup kitchen
"Changfeng! Changfeng! My son, Changfeng, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
Wang Ruyan's hands trembled as she lifted the white cloth covering her son. She couldn't believe it was her son, Gu Changfeng, but it was indeed him. She touched her son's face with trembling hands.
Gu Changfeng's face was still flushed, and his expression was strangely ambiguous, seemingly enjoying it but also in pain.
"Feng'er, who exactly ruined you like this?" Wang Ruyan murmured to herself, as if Gu Changfeng would answer her at any moment.
Those with sharp eyes among the onlookers at the entrance immediately recognized him.
"Hey? Isn't that the Prime Minister's wife?"
"Good heavens, it's the Prime Minister's wife! This...this is too indecent!"
"What exactly is going on with the Gu family?"
At that moment, someone squeezed in from outside, muttering to themselves.
Did I make it? Did I make it?
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I'm not just here to watch the excitement. You probably don't know, but something just happened at the soup kitchen, and then I heard from the little beggar that something also happened to the Gu family. I've been running around to see what's going on, so I'm afraid I've missed some details."
Someone said, "You dare to watch the commotion at the Prime Minister's residence? Be careful, the Prime Minister might just arrest you."
"If I don't read it, how am I supposed to write tomorrow's story? Everyone in the teahouse is tired of the storytellers. It's rare to find such a good topic."
"Hey, hey, buddy, you mentioned a soup kitchen? What's wrong with a soup kitchen now?"
"You don't know, this morning someone drank Miss Gu's porridge and immediately collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth. The Third Prince said that after the doctor examined him, he determined it was heatstroke, not something bad he ate."
"We know that too."
“You only know one side of the story. Not long after the Third Prince left, the Yu family sent several carts of grain, saying that there would be enough for everyone.”
"The Yu family is truly a good family."
"What's suspicious is that the grain trucks weren't leaving empty. People started unloading grain from the granary onto the trucks. While everyone was wondering what was going on, a farmhand accidentally fell, and the rice he was carrying scattered all over the ground. It turned out to be all moldy, stale rice!"
"My God! They dare to tamper with the food in this soup kitchen?"
"That's right, the disaster victims over there are already furious. If I hadn't heard that things were more interesting and lively at the Prime Minister's residence, I wouldn't have come here."
...and everyone started discussing it again.
When Gu Ziming arrived at the front yard, there was a great commotion at the entrance. He overheard some of the conversation and quickly asked the servants.
"What exactly happened? What's going on at the soup kitchen?"
The people below quickly went to inquire and their replies were similar to what that person had said.
Gu Ziming had no idea what bad luck he had encountered this year: "Let's go, let's hurry to the soup kitchen! Batu has sent someone to invite the Third Prince! Go quickly!"
Before they even reached the main gate, the crowd automatically parted to make way for Prefect Zhao of the Capital, who was leading his entourage.
Although Gu Ziming was in a hurry, he still needed to find out exactly what Zhao Da had come here for.
"Lord Zhao, what brings you to my humble abode?"
"This humble official dares not! It's just that someone came to report to the authorities that your esteemed eldest son has a life on his hands, so I have come here specifically to invite him to come over."
Gu Ziming glanced at Gu Changfeng on the ground, his lips twitching slightly as he said, "Young Master? Please, he's right there on the ground. If Lord Zhao wants him, just carry him away. Do as you please."
Gu Ziming was about to leave when he was stopped by Lord Zhao.
"Your Excellency, please wait. Because many lives are involved, and the plaintiff has presented conclusive evidence, I need to enter the residence to investigate..."
"Whatever, do as you please, Lord Zhao. I am upright and have nothing to fear. But let me make this clear: if you can't find anything, Lord Zhao, don't blame me for dragging you to the Emperor to demand justice!"
"Of course, I would not dare to convict someone arbitrarily, which is why I need to gather some evidence."
Gu Ziming was extremely anxious. He didn't know how things were going at the porridge stall ahead, and he had to get there now. Turning his head, he saw Gu Qingwan and Gu Hanqing.
"Qingwan, Qing'er, you two siblings should stay at the manor and assist Lord Zhao in investigating the case."
“Father… what if we say something wrong…” Gu Hanqing said with some concern.
"Hehe, there's nothing wrong with that. Gu Changfeng has been expelled from the family and is no longer a descendant of the Gu family. Everything he did has nothing to do with the Gu family. This has been witnessed by the Prince and the Third Prince. As for Wang Shi, I have already divorced her. Let Lord Zhao investigate as he pleases. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave!"
Gu Ziming deliberately said so much in front of everyone so that they would know that no matter how heinous Gu Changfeng was, he had nothing to do with the Gu family.
Then Gu Ziming led Batu and the others to the soup kitchen.
As Gu Qingwan watched Gu Ziming's departing figure, she thought to herself, "Gu Ziming, do you think this is all? No way, things will get much more interesting than this."
When Gu Ziming arrived at the porridge stall with his men, not only the Third Prince had arrived, but even the Prince of Chu was there. Gu Ziming's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly felt that something was wrong.
The King of Chu sent his personal guards to suppress the rioting refugees. The people still held the King of Chu in great awe, as he was always the one fighting battles and protecting the country. The King of Chu's prestige was second only to the Emperor.
"Your Highness, you must do us justice! Miss Gu is utterly heartless, serving us moldy, stale rice! We're not starving, our home has just been destroyed. There's no need to treat us like this!"
"Rest assured, everyone, I will definitely seek justice for you. Please be patient for now. I have checked the porridge and steamed buns, and they are all fresh. You can eat them with complete peace of mind."
The crowd looked at each other, none of them daring to move.
Seeing this, the King of Chu said in a deep voice, "Bring me a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun. I'm a little hungry."
The Third Prince immediately added, "I'd like one too."
Xiao Yuheng absolutely cannot afford to fall behind. This porridge distribution is being conducted in his name, and if something goes wrong, the people will definitely criticize him. Losing the people's support is not a good thing.
Gu Ziming quickly brought over three bowls of porridge and three steamed buns, and together with the Third Prince of Chu, they drank the porridge and ate the steamed buns.
Seeing this, everyone felt a little relieved, but they still asked with some unease, "That only means there's nothing wrong with what we're eating right now. What about the scattered old grain?"
The King of Chu glanced at Xiao Yuheng and said, "You're the one who organized this porridge distribution. Come and tell everyone what exactly happened."
Xiao Yuheng had already devised a plan on his way here, so he wasn't caught off guard at this moment.
"Fellow citizens, please calm down. I am able to explain this matter."
"Then tell me what happened! With the Prince here, don't try to fool us!"
Xiao Yuheng was unhappy. He hadn't expected his uncle to have such high prestige, to the point that he didn't even care about his status as a prince.
"Of course, with my royal uncle here, I wouldn't dare lie. There's no problem with the porridge. Everyone can send someone they trust to check if it's all fresh grain."
"What about the stale rice scattered on the ground?"
"Those grains were originally from the granary. My fiancée, Miss Gu, was worried that the servants might make a mistake, so she discussed with me and the Prime Minister about moving the old grains out. That's why you all saw what happened just now."
"Yes, yes, we originally agreed to move the old rice away tonight, but we were worried that some people might misunderstand us as acting suspiciously, so we arranged for the farmhands to come and move it whenever they had time. The farmhands work very hard, which is why this went wrong. We should give them more money when we get back so they can get some rest in this hot weather."
"That old rice really wasn't for us to eat?"
Gu Ziming smiled and said, "Of course not. The Third Prince loves the people like his own children. How could he possibly give the common people old rice? You are all overthinking it."
The people below believed it to some extent and began to discuss it.
"Since the Third Prince has said so, there shouldn't be any problem, right? Even the Prime Minister has given his guarantee, hasn't he?"
"Besides, the prince is here, so they wouldn't dare to lie."
"It's just..."
Seeing that the time was almost up, the King of Chu waved his hand and ordered his personal guards to withdraw.
"Alright, things are cleared up now, everyone should calm down. This is the perfect season for peaches, so I, Mingren, went to buy some. There aren't many, so let's each have one to share. I'll start by saying that children and women should have priority, and we men can wait for the rest. Don't complain if you don't get any!"
"Hahahaha." Everyone burst into laughter.
At this moment, a man said, "Peaches are a seasonal delicacy, but we're not exactly unsophisticated. We have delicious fruits back home too. Although the capital is a prosperous place, fresh fruits and vegetables like these are quite rare. Let's go back and bring a few baskets for the Emperor and the Prince to try."
"That's right, that's right. Let the children and women eat first. How good will it be for us rough men? The women and children will feel satisfied and stay juicy after eating a whole basket of this. But even if the rough men eat a whole basket, they probably won't become juicy!"
"Ha ha ha ha."
The atmosphere around them immediately relaxed, but Xiao Yuheng was displeased to see the King of Chu and the common people getting along so well.
I never imagined that all my running around, spending money and effort, would be less effective than a few baskets of peaches from the King of Chu.
Just as things were settled here, someone rushed over to Gu Ziming and said...
"Master, master, something terrible has happened! You must go back and see! Lord Zhao has dug up several corpses in the backyard!"
"what!"
Gu Ziming's vision went black, and Batu quickly supported him. Gu Ziming wished he could just faint right now, because even if he did faint, the problem would still remain unresolved.
"Oh? It seems that Prime Minister Gu is in trouble. As the Prime Minister of our Great Qing Dynasty, I cannot sit idly by and do nothing. Let's go and see. We must not wrong or wrong our Prime Minister."
The King of Chu then led his men away.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Gu Ziming still couldn't stop the Prince of Chu.
Xiao Yuheng's face darkened: "Prime Minister! You are truly a busy man! Humph!"